Leonard Ludwigsen listens as Arty Barrera's mother addresses him at sentencing.
The mastermind behind an Egg Harbor Township armed robbery that turned deadly was sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday.
Leonard Ludwigsen, now 30, admitted in December that he was in a car outside the Vermont Avenue home Jan. 2, 2020, when Neco Pitts and a still-unnamed co-conspirator went inside armed with a gun.
Arturo "Arty" Barrera III, 24, was fatally shot.
Ludwigsen and Pitts were arrested 14 months later.
"Without you, there is no murder," Marlene Barrera told Ludwigsen at his sentencing.
She said her son never hurt anyone in his life.
"He had decades more life to live before you conspired to rob and murder him," Barrera said.
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Marlene Barrera reads her statement supported by her husband, Art Barrera.Ludwigsen did not look at the mother of his victim as she spoke. He kept his eyes forward with no visible emotion.
It is how he has always appeared in court since his arrest in 2021, the Barreras said.
They were not surprised that he chose not to speak at his sentencing.
The plan was to rob another man, Tyler Antorino, Ludwigsen revealed for the first time publicly in December.
Instead, with Ludwigsen waiting in the car outside, shots were fired.
Pitts, who pleaded guilty in August, said he shot at Arty Barrera's legs. A second man also shot. His identity has not yet been confirmed.
But, under both men's plea agreements, if he is arrested and the case has an outcome, three years will come off the 15-year sentences.
Pitts is currently serving his sentence in New Jersey State Prison.
While Barrera apparently was not the intended target of the plan, his family has been targeted by posts made on social media by supporters of Ludwigsen, Marlene Barrera said.
Evidence, photos and even videos have made their way online.
“This should be considered a good deed," one Facebook comment read, Barrera said of the author's taken on her son's killing.
Another claimed Arty had guns, which was never claimed by anyone during the case, and which his mother said was not true.
Arturo 'Arty' Barrera III"You and your family have not shown a bit of acknowledgement for your actions," Barrera told Ludwigsen. "We grieve every day, and our lives will never be the same.
"I will never see my son again, and I don’t think you should ever get to see yours," she added, referencing Ludwigsen's now-10-year-old son.
At Ludwigsen's plea in December, defense attorney Lou Barbone asked the judge to release his client pending sentencing so that he could see his son, who was 6 when the arrest was made.
That request was denied.
Barrera talked of her first born, who was the one who helped his two younger brothers learn to walk, ride bikes and skateboard.
"If you need a reminder of what he looks like, there they are," Marlene Barrera she said, pointing to Santana and Tristan, sitting in the courtroom. “His brothers.”
Pitts must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, or 12 years and nine months. He has been in jail for more than three years and nine months.
He will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility until he is transferred to state prison.
